April Showers - ROTG 5 Sentence Fics
by avearia
Summary: Rise of the Guardians mini fics, all exactly 5 sentences long. - Next Up, Ch 31 - Wonder, Hope, Memory: "...It was -snowing- in his room."
1. Introduction and Table of Contents

April Showers - ROTG 5 Sentence Fics

—

A/N: For NaNoWriMo last year, I started each day with a challenge: writing a ROTG minific. Not just any minific, but a story that was told in only 5 sentences. I got the idea of the ROTG Kink Meme, where round 3 had a prompt that just asked fillers for a small fic exactly 5 sentences long. Incidentally, the first three fics in this collection are my old fills for that request.

After NaNoWriMo I had a total of 30 mini stories, total, so I thought they'd do well in a collection.

I will be posting one a day for every day in April. Enjoy!

—

Table of Contents:

1\. **Introduction/TOC**  
You Are Here.

2\. **Insight**  
Bunnymund steals Jack Frost's Memory Box.

3\. **A Well Kept Secret**  
He wasn't invited to the Funeral. (Jack/Sandy)

4\. **Yo****u Really Shouldn't Have**  
Jack's first Christmas. Bunnymund disapproves.

5\. **Go Fish**  
Phil used to be the yeti who always threw him out, but now…?

6\. **Figment**  
Myths and Legends. Avengers crossover nod.

7\. **Wingman**  
Bad first impressions? No problem. (Tooth/Snow Queen)

8\. **Just Over the Garden Wall**  
1800's Jack meets Pitch for the first time. (OTGW crossover nod)

9\. **Dying to Share**  
A chinwag over drinks takes an abrupt, personal turn.

10\. **Roundup**  
Sandy and Jack corral some Nightmares together.

11\. **A ****Clever Ruse**  
North will gladly hang on to anything Toothiana gives him. (Tooth/North)

12\. **Morning Intimacy**  
Jack knows just how Bunny likes his breakfast. (Bunny/Jack)

13\. **Be Afraid**  
Years down the line, Jamie confronts Pitch.

14\. **Santa's Gift**  
Jack notices North has a fondness for locomotives.

15\. **Technically I'm Right**  
Jack's got a concussion.

16\. **All Bets Are Off**  
In which Sandy's the only one with a goddamn poker face.

17\. **Avast**  
Pirate AU. Pirate King Pitch, meet Stowaway Jack. (Pitch/Jack)

18\. **If You Can't Send** **A Telegram**  
The kids had exactly one way to gain Toothiana's attention.

19\. **Eye For Detail**  
Bunnymund admires Jack Frost's icework. (Bunny/Jack)

20\. **Moonshine**  
"You can't sulk down there forever," Jack accuses Pitch. (Pitch/MiM)

21\. **The Memory Vault**  
It's where she keeps all the most dangerous teeth she's collected over the years.

22\. **Easter Elf**  
"C'mon, if yer gonna stay, yer gonna work."

23.** Shovel Talk**  
Sandy gets an unexpected Shovel Talk from Mother Nature. (Pitch/Sandy)

24\. **Heist**  
Sandy spends a little extra effort to get Tooth a gift. (Sandy/Tooth)

25.** You Look Hideous**  
Jack upstages North at the annual Ugly Christmas Sweater contest.

26\. **Down the Rabbit Hole**  
Sophie watches Alice in Wonderland, and the tale strikes a chord.

27\. **Firepit**  
A camping trip in the Warren.

28\. **Wicked Grin**  
The memory of her smile haunts him. (Pitch/Tooth)

29\. **Flannel**  
Bunnymund would like to tear that shirt off North's back. Literally. (Bunny/North)

30**. Easter Betrayal**  
Doubt is an insideous thing.

31**. Wonder, Hope, Memory**  
It was _snowing _in his room.

—

_Note: Since these are all pre-completed stories, I am not taking requests at this time. _


	2. Insight

_Summary: Bunnymund steals Jack Frost's Memory Box._

* * *

1\. Insight

"_Jack, I'm scared." _

Even if he only did this to understand the kid better, Bunnymund is starting to deeply regret stealing Jack Frost's memory box.

"_I know, I know… but you're gonna be alright—you're not gonna fall in." _

He just wanted to know what was so goddamn important about those memories, and why Jack would selfishly sacrifice Easter to get them back—but as Bunnymund watches the scene play out on the ice, he realizes Jack has endured three lonely, invisible centuries, all while missing these vastly important memories, and Bunny never once lifted a finger to help.

And when Jack locks eyes with his sister and whispers,_"You have to believe in me," _Bunnymund realizes that Jack's selfishness isn't nearly as appalling as his own.


	3. A Well Kept Secret

3\. A Well Kept Secret

He wasn't invited to the Funeral. (Jack/Sandy)

* * *

He wasn't invited to the funeral.

Of course he wasn't—why would they invite _Jack Frost_ to the Sandman's funeral? Jack tries to swallow his bitterness, and anger, and sorrow, until he is left with only guilt.

After all, only close personal friends were invited to the vigil, and the other Guardians had no way of knowing that Sandy was not only Jack's closest friend, but also his ex lover.

He wants to ask for help, wants a shoulder to cry on, wants to explain why he needs—_deserves_—to be part of that ceremony, but instead, his grief chokes and silences him; after all, if he'd only been a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, a little less reckless, then maybe there wouldn't need to be a funeral today at all.


	4. You Really Shouldn't Have

4\. You Really Shouldn't Have

_Jack's first Christmas. Bunnymund disapproves. _

* * *

It's Jack's first proper Christmas, and though the boy owns little more than the shirt on his back, Jack still manages to scrape up something for each of his friends; Bunnymund is truly touched when Jack offers him his gift.

That is, until he opens the present and realizes this is Jack's idea of a joke.

"They're bunny slippers," Jack answers gleefully, "do you like them?"

Normally, Bunny would blow up at the insult ("_what, mate, didja get me a lucky rabbit's foot too?"—)_ but across the room, Tooth is glaring murderously at Bunny, _daring_ him to step a toe out of line and ruin Jack's first Christmas.

The Pooka slouches in defeat, stares down at the fluffy pink mockery in his lap, and grumbles through clenched teeth; "…You shouldn't have."


	5. Go Fish

5\. Go Fish

Phil used to be the yeti who always threw him out, but now…?

* * *

"Got any threes?"

Phil harrumph'd something that must've been yetish for _Go Fish_, jabbing a surly finger at the deck of cards Jack ought to draw from, and Jack obliged, adding the next card to his hand before sipping at the cocoa provided.

He used to think Phil hated him — not a hard conclusion to draw when the yeti was in charge of booting Jack out the front door whenever he'd snuck in — but now that he was the newly appointed Guardian of Fun, Jack was learning the yeti did not begrudge him, in particular, so much as he just begrudged the world in general.

Tired, beleagured, and put upon by Santa's grandiose schemes, Phil the Security Yeti rarely had a chance to loosen up and practice being _less grouchy,_ so Jack always made it a point to track the grump down once a week, even if they could only snatch a game of cards in the brake room after hours.

"Say it slower, please, you know my yetish is terrible—'Do I have…?'—" certain times, though, made it clear that Phil, despite all odds, _did _have a sense of humor; "—'Do I have… any—' …oh you _jerk, _of course I have some Jacks, _I was_ _saving those!_"


	6. Figment

6\. Figment

Myths and Legends. Avengers crossover nod.

—

"Thor, from Norse Mythology… it's hard to explain, but he's an Asgardian," Jack tells Bunnymund, trying to make him understand. "His people, they're not human, exactly, but they're definitely not spirits—they're _real_."

Bunnymund frowns at the implication. "_We're _real."

Jack looks away, eyes clouded, and says, "…Sometimes I wonder."

* * *

_A/N: Obviously something I wrote while writing Winter Gods. I liked the exchange but couldn't squeeze it in. Fits well here, though! _


	7. Wingman

7\. Wingman

Bad first impressions? No problem. (Tooth/Snow Queen)

* * *

"So on a scale from 1 to 10…" Tooth said cautiously, "…how badly did I do?"

Jack Frost rolled his eyes, thinking back to the chaos they left in the Ice Queen's chambers. "If 10 is, 'She's going to propose tomorrow' and 1 is 'You'll be physically attacked next time you make eye contact'," he threw a dry look in her direction, "I'd rate that a solid _negative 60 plus windchill._"

Tooth fluttered closer, a desperate look in her eyes; "B-but there's still hope, right, because—because the Ice Queen—she _is _single?"

A sigh: "…Yes, Tooth," Jack confirmed, "I promise I'll get you a date."


	8. Just Over the Garden Wall

8\. Just Over the Garden Wall

1800's Jack meets Pitch for the first time. (OTGW crossover nod)

* * *

Jack hefted the lantern off the snowy ground, staring at it, curious where it had come from. Someone from a nearby town could've left it - there was one only five minutes away on horseback - but no one would venture this far into the woods on All Hallow's Eve, and there were no footprints in the snow, besides.

_And someone had to light this lamp…_ Jack thought turning the lantern slowly, looking at the flame flickering inside, not noticing the way the shadows twisted in the trees behind him.

Until those shadows spoke.

"That would be mine," announced the Spirit, whom Jack would later come to know as Pitch Black, "…And I'd thank you kindly to give it _back_."


	9. Dying to Share

9\. Dying to Share

A chinwag over drinks takes an abrupt, personal turn.

* * *

"I kinda want to dye my hair," Jack admits about three hours into the conversation, adamantly staring at the mug of tea between his palms that has long since gone cold.

Bunnymund can just picture it; "Lemme guess, something obnoxious, like _lime green_, right?" he thinks aloud, sipping at his own cuppa as he chuckles inwardly about how easy it will be to nail Jack with a snowball once the kid gets a neon target painted to his head.

"I was actually thinking—maybe pastels, like—" Jack doesn't make eye contact, "sky blue, or lilac, or," even quieter, "…maybe brown, to match my old hair color."

Bunnymund goes quiet, at last understanding why Jack looks so vulnerable; after a moment of sitting, tracing the rim of his teacup with a claw, Bunny excuses himself and disappears into a back room of the Warren, coming out minutes later with a jar in hand.

"Got this dye back when my fur started turnin' grey… never used it though, so if you want, I figure—" Jack takes one look at the jar and, watery eyed, latches a hug around Bunny's midsection, leaving the Pooka to murmur into his hair; "—I figure brown would suit ya, Frostbite… it'll suit ya just fine."


	10. Roundup

10\. Roundup

Sandy and Jack corral some Nightmares together.

* * *

"Another one incoming!" shouted Jack from his perch atop the roof of an apartment building, seconds before a rogue Nightmare peeled around the corner.

Sandy was after it in a flash, his whips morphing into a lasso that he used to wrangle the beast and drag himself onto the horse's back, and he rode the bucking bronco until the black was subdued by the golden hue of dreamsand.

Jack flittered down once Sandy had reclaimed the Nightmare sand to congratulate him on a job well done, and blinked - in addition to the lasso, Sandy had also conjured up a golden flannel shirt, a couple of spurs, and a cowboy hat to complete the outfit.

"You're so extra, and I love you for it," Jack laughed.

Sandy, smiling, tipped his hat.


	11. A Clever Ruse

11\. A Clever Ruse

North will gladly hang on to anything Toothiana gives him. (Tooth/North)

* * *

"Hey, North," Tooth called, fluttering up to his side, "…could you hold this for me?"

"Yes, of course, _anything _for you!" agreed Nicholas St North, holding out his hand to accept.

"Thanks!" Tooth said cheerfully, and reached out to hold his hand, lacing her fingers between his with a smile.

"I—oh—um—this is not what I—" North paused, then said, "…okay."

(About ten feet away, hidden behind a gaudy, over-decorated Christmas tree, Jack Frost and Baby Tooth shot her a thumbs-up and beamed at her with pride.)


	12. Morning Intimacy

12\. Morning Intimacy

Jack knows just how Bunny likes his breakfast. (Bunny/Jack)

* * *

Aster likes his morning tea with honey, his eggs over-easy, and biscuits spread with Vegemite served on the side—though usually, the overgrown rabbit only takes breakfast after he's put in at least one hour of work on the Gardens.

Jack knows this because _his_ busy hours are from dusk to dawn, and they pass each other in the kitchen each morning as Jack is coming in from a hard night's work, and Aster's heading out.

One of these days, Jack vows, he'll forgo work in favor of going to bed with Bunny, so they can wake up together, eat breakfast together, and cuddle in bed as Jack tempts his lover to ignore the weeds in his garden for one single solitary day — but until that day comes, Jack figures he'll have to make do.

"What's all this?" Aster asks, rubbing dreamsand from his eyes as Jack eases his way into their shared room, balancing food on a tray.

"Breakfast in bed," Jack says, planting the tray of biscuits, eggs, and tea in front of Aster, and though he's exhausted from a night's work, the soft smile Aster sends him is enough to make all the extra effort worthwhile.


	13. Be Afraid

13\. Be Afraid

Years down the line, Jamie confronts Pitch.

* * *

"I know you're here," Jamie accuses the darkness, refusing to let his voice waver.

Nothing answers, not right away, but he didn't drag himself through the thick forest and down the hole under the abandoned bed to turn back without so much as an echo, so he says louder, "I need to know what happened that night, five years ago—why I can't remember any of it… I can't remember anything except for _you." _

A dark voice chuckles, and Pitch—that's right, _that's _his name—Pitch Black answers, "And what if the reason you've forgotten is because you simply can't _bear _to remember?"

Whatever Pitch is going on about, it has to be some sort of mind game, so Jamie says, "I am _not _afraid of you."

"_Shame_," Pitch says, emerging from the darkness—and much to Jamie's shock, the Nightmare King is scarred now, missing the entire left side of his face, and Pitch squints his remaining eye and murmurs_; _"…Your fear might've _saved_ you."


	14. Santa's Gift

14\. Santa's Gift

Jack notices North has a fondness for locomotives.

* * *

Ever since their invention, North loved any type of locomotives. He could not stop from carving trains any more than Phil cold help barging into North's study at inopportune times and breaking them. So when Christmas rolled around, while the others struggled with gift ideas for the man who had everything, Jack knew just what to get.

"What is this - The Polar Express?" North asked, peeling back the wrapping.

"Your next favorite movie, I'm betting," Jack promised, "…or your money back."


	15. Technically I'm Right

15\. Technically I'm Right

Jack's got a concussion.

* * *

"Alright Frostbite, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Jack blinks hard and then squints hard at Bunnymund's furred appendage. He seems to consider the question for a long moment before he gives a goofy grin and answers, "Zero," and pokes the paw, "Because—Bunnies don't have—fingers!"

Bunnymund bites back a sigh and tries to be patient as he asks again, "All right, how many _digits _am I holding up, then, _Jack_?"

"Oh, uh, I dunno," Jack admits, straightfaced and honest, and a concerned Bunnymund is already reaching for the medicine by the time the boy answers, "Like, at least _seven_."


	16. All Bets Are Off

16\. All Bets Are Off

In which Sandy's the only one with a goddamn poker face.

* * *

"He's _gotta _be cheatin' _somehow,_" Bunnymund whined, eventually surrendering the twelve chips he lost, delivering them straight into Sandy's mischievous little hands. "Twenty rounds in a row he's won, now… gotta be hidin' cards up his sleeve, or something."

"Sure, Bunny," Tooth replied, deadpan, because even as distracted as she was (_Right lateral incisor, 223 West Parker, Nevada_) even _she'd _noticed the way Bunnymund's ears had drooped upon receiving his cards, and how he'd still tried to forge ahead with the bluff anyway.

Jack dealt the next round, and watched with glee as each studied their cards: Bunnymund, grouchy, folded instantly; Tooth's feathers rippled and shoulders danced a little in excitement; North's big eyes widened at his cards, then turned to squint suspiciously at his comrades as if to judge how his hand (good, but perhaps only _just_?) might stack up to the competition - he would no doubt go in on betting, regardless, too curious to fold.

And even though Sandy clearly had the advantage, accepting the cards with a sleepy-lidded gaze that betrayed absolutely nothing, Jack felt no guilt at all livening up the round by slipping the Dreamweaver a pair of pocket aces.

* * *

_I'll be honest. I think this is my favorite one of the bunch. _


	17. Avast

17\. Avast

Pirate AU. Pirate King Pitch, meet Stowaway Jack. (Pitch/Jack)

* * *

Jack had heard of the legendary Pirate King Pitch, but he never dreamed he'd ever cross paths with the man, nor did he want to.

Fate, however, plays its cards regardless.

"What do we have here?" an oil-voice slides over Jack's ears, and the feather-light touch of the Pirate King's cutlass slides under his neck, drawing a fine line of blood and forcing his chin upwards until their eyes meet. Something dark glitters in Pitch's amused eyes, and the man gives a crooked grin and orders the brute holding him; "…take him to my quarters."

Damn, did Jack choose the wrong ship to stow away on, or _what. _


	18. If You Can't Send a Telegram

18\. If You Can't Send A Telegram

The kids had exactly one way to gain Toothiana's attention.

* * *

"Alright, Monty, you ready?" Jamie asked, as Claude finished tying the floss around his baby tooth - the last one in his mouth - while his twin Caleb tied the other end to the doorknob. All they had left to do was slam the door and yank the tooth out, and put it under his pillow.

Monty didn't exactly WANT to pull his last tooth - the thing wasn't even loose yet, and their plan would probably hurt like nobody's business - but he was the only one who still had a baby tooth to lose, and they had no other reliable way to contact the Guardians, so he would just have to suck it up.

Tense, Monty stole one last look at the bed, where Jack Frost lay, unconscious and as translucent as a ghost, in dire need of help... and despite his fear, and the impending pain, Monty refused to let him down.

"Ready," Monty agreed, and braced himself, mouth hung open and eyes shut tight.


	19. Eye for Detail

19\. Eye For Detail

Bunnymund admires Jack Frost's icework. (Bunny/Jack)

* * *

Bunny had never noticed before, but Jack's frost was actually quite beautiful.

Perhaps his aversion to the cold had prevented him from noticing before, since whenever it was cold enough for the frost to stick around meant it was cold enough to drive Bunny inside - or perhaps his past grudge against Jack had kept him from admitting, even grudgingly, that the boy might've had some talent.

Now, though, as he sat at the lakeside on a cold, windless night, watching Jack spin fern frost onto flat ice, Bunnymund couldn't help but admire the geometric patterns that flowed so naturally from the sprite's fingertips.

And when Jack turned, laughing, Bunny glimpsed the same iceberg blue magic brimming in Jack's eyes, and the joyous glow took his breath away.

"Not bad, Jack," Bunnymund murmured too low for other to hear; "...not bad at all."


	20. Moonshine

20\. Moonshine

"You can't sulk down there forever," Jack accuses Pitch. (Pitch/MiM)

* * *

"You can't sulk down there forever," Jack accuses Pitch, his baritone voice echoing down the shadowy caverns of Pitch's lair.

"Oh ye of little faith," Pitch drawls, and sips at his wine stash, because after that humiliating defeat all he wants to do is sit in the dark and get drunk. Why does MiM feel the need to rub his face in his defeat, sending those Guardian lackys after him—can't Pitch have _one _moment of peace?

Apparently not, as the tunnel glows golden with Jack and Sandy's arrival… though, when Pitch shoots them a murderous glare, Sandy touts the gift he brought in goodwill: a crystal cask filled with sparkling moonshine.

Pitch smirks, and he's forced to admit; despite MiM's shortcomings, his ex _does _have a knack for giving quality apology gifts.


	21. The Memory Vault

21\. The Memory Vault

It's where she keeps all the most dangerous teeth she's collected over the years.

* * *

Immediately following the Battle of Burgess, Toothiana took Pitch's lower left incisor to the Memory Vault, a highly guarded cache of the most dangerous teeth she'd ever collected, and she gave Jack the honor of joining her.

"Woah, creepy atmosphere," he commented, glancing around the collection; a vampire fang cradled in silk _here, _a set of adult teeth that had rotted horiffically from the inside out _there… _most on modest pedestals encased in glass and encircled with runes, though Jack glimpsed one lone tooth near the back that stood some _six feet tall_ and was draped with white cloth, instead—he could hardly imagine what kind of giant mouth _that _had come from.

At the center, on a raised platform and haloed beneath a spotlight, sat a set of what looked like perfectly ordinary child's teeth, set apart from the rest. "What's the story with these?" Jack asked, drawing closer, curiosity piqued, because if spirit nonsense had taught him anything it was that the ones in the center were always the most important.

"Oh," Toothiana said, flapping her hand to dismiss the question—and Jack had _never _seen her dismiss anything involving teeth before—"…don't pay any mind to those, sweet tooth—they're _mine._"


	22. Easter Elf

22\. Easter Elf

"C'mon, if yer gonna stay, yer gonna work."

* * *

It took five weeks for Bunnymund to catch the lone elf that had secreted itself away in the Warren.

The distant jingling drove him nuts, and every so often a glittery blur would dart out of his sight, but it took a while before Bunnymund was able to catch the little miscreant off-guard.

His moment of victory - catching the pastel pest in a tripwire net - was somewhat dampened when he found himself face-to-face with the elf's pitiful, watery-eyed expression and realized the elf had been dodging him so diligently because it didn't want to leave, and… hell, if the elf wanted to be here so bad, who was he to crush that hope?

Grudgingly, Bunny dragged the forlorn elf to the color river and sat him down with a tiny paintbrush and a terse instruction of "C'mon, if yer gonna stay, yer gonna work."

The elf's radiant smile was reward enough for him.

* * *

_Happy Easter, everybody! _


	23. Shovel Talk

23\. Shovel Talk

Sandy gets an unexpected Shovel Talk from Mother Nature. (Pitch/Sandy)

* * *

"…and if your intentions aren't true—if this is some sort of ruse to get my Father on your good side—then you'd best drop your plans right now and run with your tail between your legs, because if I find out later that you've jilted him, I am going to freeze your sands, gouge your eyes out, and _bury _you in the Mariana's Trench, do you hear?"

When Sandy started dating Pitch, their main concern was how the Guardians would take it, especially since Sandy didn't necessarily _want _Pitch to change; it seemed, however, that while bracing for the Guardian's disapproval, they forgot to account for Mother Nature's ire.

"And if you _dare _lay a hand on him—if you belittle him, if you manipulate him, if you even give him a single _scratch—_I swear you will be _instantly _struck down by a lightning storm, the likes of which you have never seen, and _after _your body has been turned into super-heated glass, I will gather up whatever remains of you at the end of the night and _dump_ _you_ _into my personal volcano._"

It didn't seem to matter that she and Pitch weren't on speaking terms, or that she and Sandy used to be close; once the whisper of a romance reached her ears, Mother Nature zeroed in on him and began dispensing threats—threats, Sandy knew, she would not hesitate to act upon, should he dare to cross her.

"And another thing—!" Mother Nature started, and Sandy forced himself not to cringe, eased himself back into a comfortable position, and braced himself against the whipping winds and darkening skies around him, prepared to wait out the storm.

* * *

_...And Happy Earth Day! ...Mother Nature is just under a lot of stress, that's all. _


	24. Heist

24\. Heist (Sandy/Tooth)

Sandy spends a little extra effort to get Tooth a gift.

* * *

A little dreamsand goes a long way.

Sandy's not above bending the rules and flexing his muscle to ensure his friends are happy, a fact that's on full display when he floats into the Tooth Palace with a matching pair of Talwar Sabres in hand.

When Tooth locks eyes with him, she instantly knows what they are, and starts sputtering, "—my—my swords—those are—how did you—I thought they were on display at the new Weapons Exhibit in the Louvre!"

Sandy resolves to tell her nothing, and only smiles mysteriously instead.

If, by chance, there are Security Guards in a Paris Museum taking a quick nap at their desks while alarms blare loud around them, then… well… that's not a fact that Toothiana necessarily has to _know_.


	25. You Look Hideous

25\. You Look Hideous

Jack upstages North at the annual Ugly Christmas Sweater contest.

* * *

When Jack Frost walked through the door to the party, wearing the _ugliest _sweater North had ever seen, Santa knew in an instant that he had been dethroned.

The sweater, in its design, was utterly creative in its repulsiveness; the base was Jack's usual blue hoodie, but the pine branches, sap, lights, and ornaments he'd stuck to it made the boy look like a walking Christmas tree, and it was going to win the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest for _sure_. North's own sweater, lovingly handcrafted with clashing patterns and nauseating colors, simply didn't compare.

Head hanging in defeat, North slipped out the back door of the parlor, and Jack, seeing his exit, was forced to turn to a Yeti for help.

"Hey, sorry I'm late to the party, I kinda ran into a tree on my way over here, and I was hoping—" Jack paused as he tried to decipher the yeti's speak, and then he asked, bewildered, "…um, sorry, I think I misheard — _what _contest?"


	26. Down the Rabbit Hole

26\. Down the Rabbit Hole

Sophie watches Alice in Wonderland, and the tale strikes a chord.

* * *

Sophie Bennett loves Disney, but she's never watched the classics before her English teacher assigns Alice in Wonderland for a project her Sophomore year.

Maybe it's the white rabbit, fraught with stress and pressed for time - or the way Alice tumbles down his rabbit hole. Maybe it's the nonsensical Wonderland, popping with color and brimming with fantastic characters of all kinds that rings a bell—or maybe…

…maybe it's the Cheshire Cat, and his insidious grin, that does the trick. Because ever since her brother went off to college, Sophie's glimpsed a twin of that face grinning back at her - a figure wrapped in shadow, invisible all but for two golden eyes and a sharp teeth, leering, on dark nights, from underneath her bed.


	27. Firepit

27\. Firepit

A camping trip in the Warren.

* * *

The scent of cedar and woodsmoke rises into the air, carrying with it hints of the vegetable stew simmering away above the campfire. Jack breathes it in and watches the firelight as it flickers over the Warren's stone-carved sigils.

"So when do we start telling ghost stories?" Jack asks eagerly as he takes a seat and sets down his staff, because though this might be his first official camping trip, he already likes the atmosphere.

Bunny ladles up a bowl of soup from the cast iron pot and hands it to Jack (whose mouth is already watering from the smoky-salt aroma), and replies, "T' be fair, we were waitin' on you, so… Sandy, if you'll do the honors?"

Jack slurps up a spoonful and smiles as golden dreamsand blooms overhead, unfurling the scene for the first story of the night.


	28. Wicked Grin

29\. Wicked Grin (Pitch/Tooth)

The memory of her smile haunts him.

* * *

Her talents were _wasted _as a Guardian.

Of all the others, she, more than anyone, belonged at his side. What sent more chills down a child's spine than a visit to the dentist—a fear so strong it persisted in most people into adulthood? And what better power existed to preserve fear than the ability to tamper with childhood memories?

She had a knack for it—he could see the darkness, the vindictive flicker in her eyes when she fought him—and when she struck him down, that wicked grin of hers flashing in the moonlight made him realize, _she would make a beautiful queen by my side. _


	29. Flannel

15\. Flannel (Bunny/North.)

Bunnymund would like to tear that shirt off North's back. Literally.

* * *

Someone needed to tell North that Flannel was not sexy.

"Too Christmas-y, Mate," Bunnymund purred, rubbing his face against North's - scent marking - as he clawed at the first button of North's gaudy flannel shirt. "Take it off."

North responded by pushing the sleeves of his ugly red plaid shirt up to the elbows and then planting his hands on his hips, indignant as he announced, "Nothing is _ever _too Christmas-y!" in defiance, "…and you are _daft_."

Bunnymund grumbled, "Guess we're not gettin' frisky then… suit yerself," and hopped off, smirking as North squawked behind him and tried in vain to rephrase his objection.


	30. Easter Betrayal

30\. Easter Betrayal

Doubt is an insidious thing.

* * *

"…But let me ease your mind about one thing," Pitch's voice pools like oil in his ears, "…they'll never accept you, not _really._"

_No, that's—that's wrong, because—_Jack pants with the effort of holding himself together, trying to remember his own self worth as Pitch's words tear him apart from the inside. "Stop it, stop it!" he shouts, clutching his head—demanding or begging, he isn't sure, but if Pitch doesn't stop, Jack thinks he might split in two.

And eventually, Pitch _does _stop, easing up on the pressure just before Jack cracks. Instead, he sweeps aside and lets the spirit slide out the backdoor, toothbox in hand, dumping him into the mouth of the Warren, because the Nightmare King knows that victory will be all the sweeter if he lets the Guardians deal that fatal, final blow.


	31. Wonder, Hope, Memory

31\. Wonder, Hope, Memory

'It was _snowing _in his room.'

* * *

It was _snowing _in his room.

Jamie stared in awe and _wonder _as the rabbit mirage burst in a flurry of snowflakes, dusting his room in white.

The rabbit had appeared from the frosted window, just when his _hope _had begun to fade, giving him a sign that all was not lost - but since when did the Easter Bunny have anything to do with snow?

He reached out to cradle a snowflake in his palm, trying to puzzle where it had come from, when a glittering flake kissed his nose and jogged a day-old _memory_; his mother warning him to wear a hat, to bundle up in the snow, lest his nose get nipped by the legendary spirit…

_"…Jack Frost." _

* * *

_A/N: and that's everything! 30 prompts for 30 days in April. _

_It was a fun experiment, for me at least. Got the chance to take some small ideas out for a spin... _

_If anyone would like to see another fic like this in the future - or see any of the small ideas in these ficlets here taken out for a spin in a larger fic of their own, let me know! _

_Special thanks to everyone who reviewed - especially those who reviewed anonymously, who I can't contact and thank directly - kudos to you! _

_Hope everyone enjoyed reading. _

_Fin. _


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